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24 August 2014

FAA Issues Special Conditions on Tire Failure Debris Penetration for A350. Meantime, Airbus completes the impact study for the wing.

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a final special conditions rule [a Federal Register notice Docket No. FAA-2013-0907] for Airbus Model A350-900 series airplanes that will be effective on 8/September.

“These airplanes will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with fuel tanks constructed of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) materials located within the tire-impact zone, including the wing fuel tanks.

The ability of carbon-fiber composite material to resist penetration or rupture when impacted by tire debris has not been established. No current airworthiness standards specifically address this hazard for all exposed wing surfaces. These special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the Administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards.”

Meantime, Airbus has completed the impact study for the A350 wing. Engineering consultancy Frazer-Nash has successfully completed a contract to accurately model impact damage on the A350 XWB.

The team analyzed particular areas on the leading edge and lower wing covers of the A350 XWB wings, with particular focus on the composite components.

The work involved Frazer-Nash conducting non-linear Finite Element Analysis to evaluate the predicted damage to the leading edge structures during bird impacts for different speeds and angles. The work also assessed the integrity of the wing lower covers in the event of tire debris impact.

Glyn Norris, Aerospace Business Manager at Frazer-Nash, “This project has been a great success. We were able to use our extensive modelling experience to support Airbus in successfully gaining certification”

Based on the press release “Impact study for Airbus A350XWB wing completed by Frazer-Nash” and based on the article “FAA Issues Special Conditions on Tire Failure Debris Penetration for Airbus A350-Series Airplanes” published in HispanicBusiness.com